The present invention provides compositions of iodonium salts and methods for using these compositions for air and water sterilization, nematode and fungi control, to minimize mollusk attachment to submerged surfaces, to control termites and other destructive insects and to minimize the effects of Pierce Disease and other such diseases transmitted through plant xylem.
It is known in the art that a class of compounds comprising the hypervalent salts of iodine, known as iodonium compounds, is effective in killing bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens. U.S. Pat. No. 3,422,152 discloses using dihalogenated alkoxydiphenyl iodonium salts as pharmaceutical anhelminitics. U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,036 discloses that certain diaryl iodonium salts can be biologically active yet exhibit low vertebrate toxicity and toxicity to aquatic environments. A new electrochemical method for synthesizing diaryl iodonium compounds has been developed and patented by Cushman, et. al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,767), which is less costly and able to compete effectively with the traditional methods.
The present invention provides a composition having biological activity comprising: (1) from about 10 ppm to about 5000 parts iodonium salt, (2) from about 100 ppm to about 300,000 ppm of a compound to act as a carrier of the iodonium compound and is selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate, polyethylene glycol, ethylene glycol and propylene glycol block copolymers (poloxymers), cellulosic polymer, polyester, alkyd polymers and mixtures of the same; (3) from about 50 ppm to about 50,000 ppm of a compound to render the composition compatible with a surface being treated and is selected from the group consisting of di-acids, acid anhydrides, polyfunctional acids, di-ethylene glycol, resorcinol and the like; and (4) an appropriate vehicle selected from the group consisting of water, acidified water, paint, primer, and petroleum distillates.
The present invention further provides numerous methods of using the above compound by applying the compound to a surface to be treated.